Dish rack support for dishwasher



April 1966 M. E. ULLMAN, JR 3,248,158

DISH RACK SUPPORT FOR DISHWASHER Filed Dec. 10, 1963 75 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. l 40 INVENTOR. MYRON E. ULLMAN, JR.

April 26, 1966 M. E- ULLMAN, JR

DISH RACK SUPPORT FOR DISHWASHER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 10, 1963 FIG. 2

FIG. 6

INVENTOR. MYRON E. ULLMAN, JR.

April 26, 1966 M. E. ULLMAN, JR

DISH RACK SUPPORT FOR DISHWASHER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 10, 1963 INVENTOR. MYRON E. ULLMAN, JR.

AT 5am United States Patent 3,248,158 DISH RACK SUPPORT FOR DISHWASHER Myron E. Ullman, Jr., Canfield, Ohio, assignor to Mullins Manufacturing Corporation, Salem, Ohio, at corporation of Ohio Filed Dec. 10, 1963, Ser. No. 329,556 13 Claims. (Cl. 312-274) This invention pertains to the art of dishwashers and more particularly to a supporting structure for a'dish rack designed to hold dishes, or other articles to be washed and rinsed, such structure permitting movement of the dish rack inwardly and outwardly between retracted and extended positions through a doorway leading into the washing chamber of the dishwasher.

The present invention is particularly applicable to a domestic dishwasher which includes a housing with a washing chamber within which the dishes, or other articles, are washed and rinsed by spraying water against the surfaces thereof. The housing has, at the front thereof, a doorway for access to the interior of the washing chamber.

The dishwasher includes at least one dish rack movable inwardly and outwardly through the doorway between a retracted position within the washing chamber and an extended position wherein the rack is at least partially withdrawn from the washing chamber for loading and unloading the dishes therefrom.

The invention is more particularly directed toward a dishwasher as defined above wherein the doorway is adapted to be closed by a door pivotally connected to the dishwasher housing adjacent the lower edge of the doorway for movement between a generally vertical closed position and a generally horizontalopened position. Such a dish rack as contemplated by the present invention is disposed above the opened door when in its extended position.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an improvement in a dishwasher of the type including a washing chamber with a vertical wall, an access doorway in the wall, a door pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis adjacent the lowermost edge of the doorway and adapted to selectively close the doorway, and a dish-receiving rack supported in the washing chamber and movable in a plane generally parallel with the pivotal axis of the door. The improvement as contemplated by the present invention includes a generally horizontal first track means in the Washing chamber and extending toward the doorway, a second track means on the inner surface of the door and generally perpendicular .to the pivotal axis, the dish rack having a rear follower means and a front follower means, the dish rack'being movable from a first position completely in the washing chamber to a second position extending partially through the doorway, the rear follower means being movable along the first track means, the front follower means being movable along the second track means, the second track means terminating at the innermost end in a cradle located a predetermined distance from the pivotal axis of the door for receiving the second follower means when the rack is moved to its innermost position with respect to the second track means whereby the dish rack is pulled outwardly from the washing chamber as the door is pivoted open and pushed inwardly into the chamber as the door is pivoted closed, and the first track means being below the dish rack and formed integrally with the washing chamber.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an improvement in a dish rack for a domestic dishwasher having a washing chamber which dish rack is generally characterized as including an open and unobstructed dish receiving body having a front and rear track follower means adapted to ride along tracks at each transverse side of the washing chamber and each of the follower means including at least one support arm and a roller assembly secured to the support arm. The improvement of the dish rack, as characterized above, comprises forming the support arm with a first portion and a terminal end extending substantially perpendicular to the first portion, and providing the roller assembly with a roller having a central bore, a bushing .with a central bore, a flange at one end of the bushing and resilient gripping fingers at the other end of the bushing, the roller being rotatably received on the bushing with the flange abutting one end of the roller. The bushing is received on the terminal end of the support arm with the fingers resiliently gripping the perpendicularly disposed support arm to secure the assembly onto the support arm.

The primary object of the present invention is the provision of a dish rack for a domestic dishwasher which is economical to manufacture, pleasing in appearance, easily movable into and out of the washing chamber of the dishwasher and durable in use.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a dish rack for a domestic dishwasher having a door pivoted on an horizontal axis between a vertical closed position and a horizontal opened position which dish rack has two downwardly extending follower means with one of the means movable solely in a track in the washing chamber of the dishwasher and the other follower means movable solely in a track on the door of the dishwasher whereby movement of the door between theopened and closed positions moves the dish rack with respect to the Washing chamber of the dishwasher. In this manner, the dish rack is pulled slightly from the washing chamber as the door is opened to assist in manually sliding the dish rack from the washing chamber for loading or unloading dishes therefrom.

Still a further object of the present invention is the provision of a dish rack for a domestic dishwasher which dish rack has two downwardly extending follower means movably received in'tracks on the dishwasher, each of the follower means including a roller assembly that is economical to manufacture, easy to assemble onto the dish rack and resistant to corrosion during use.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a dish rack for a domestic dishwasher which dish rack has two downwardly extending follower means movably received in tracks on the dishwasher, each of the follower means including a support arm at each side of the dish rack with a perpendicularly extending terminal end on each support arm and a roller assembly mounted on each of the terminal ends which roller assemblies each include a bushing mounted on the terminal end of the support arm and rotatably receiving a roller, the bushing having resilient fingers at the innermost end for gripping the perpendicularly disposed support arm and a retaining flange on the other end for preventing removal of the roller from the bushing. In this manner, the roller can be placed onto the bushing to form a unit and the unit can be snapped onto the support arm with the bushing received by the terminal end and the resilient fingers gripping the-perpendicularly disposed support arm to hold the unit in place. 'Heretofore, roller assemblies for slidably mounting a dish rack within a dishwasher usually included a roller placed directly onto the perpendicularly extending terminal end of the support'arm and a metal bolt or screw received by this end to prevent removal of the roller. Such an arrangement presented a complicated assembly operation and resulted in an exposed metal bolt or screw which was easily corroded during long use within the corrosive atmosphere of the dishwasher.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description used to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention as read in connect-ion with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partially cross sectioned, side elevational view of a dishwasher illustrating .the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial, enlarged cross sectional view taken generally along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a partial, enlarged cross sectional view illustrating a dish rack constructed in accordance with the present invention with the door in the closed position;

FIGURE 4 is a partial, enlarged cross sectional view illustrating a dish rack constructed in accordance with the present invention with the door in the opened position;

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view taken generally along line 55 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged pictorial view illustrating a roller assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention; and,

FIGURE 7 is an exploded view of the par-ts comprising the roller assembly shown in FIGURE 6.

Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention only and not for the purpose of limiting same, FIGURE 1 shows a domestic dishwasher A having an inner washing cabinet or chamber 10 with a lower truncated sump wall 12 and an access doorway 14 selectively opened and closed by a door 16 pivotally mounted on a horizontally extending axis x-x by a hinge 20. To direct water into the washing chamber 10, in accordance with the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, there is' provided a water inlet line controlled by a valve 32 which is actuated by a signal from a timing device which is not a part of the invention and, for simplicity, has been omitted from the disclosure. The water inlet line 30, when the valve 32 is opened, directs water through anti-back siphon chambers 34 into chamber .10 through water inlet 36. Mounted directly below the cabinet 10 and adapted to receive Water from lower.

wall 12 there is provided, in accordance with the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, a water circulating mechanism which is the subject matter of a copending patent application by M. E. Ullman, Jr., and J. M. Harroff. The water circulating mechanism recycles the water from the lower wall 12 through a perforated jet tower 42 connected onto the outlet of the mechanism 40 by a recycling line 44.

Dishes to be washed are supported within the washing chamber 10 on upper dish rack 46 and lower dish rack 50 which are positioned with respect to perforated jet tower 42 in such a manner that Water spraying from the perforations of the jet tower will impinge upon all surfaces of the dishes in the dish racks to wash and rinse these dishes. The present invention is directed toward the construction and mounting arrangement of the lower dish rack 50 and the lower dish rack will be hereinafter described in detail. It should be here appreciated that the structure of the dishwasher A is illustrated for the purpose of showing one environment to which the present invention is particularly adapted; however,,the structural features of the dishwasher as above described are not intended to limit in any way the intended scope of the present invention.

Referring now to FIGURES 1-5, the lowerdish rack 50 includes a body 52 formed from a plurality of welded,

heavy gauge wires coated with a resilient plastic material to prevent chipping of dishes supported within the dish rack and to prevent corrosion of the various wires during prolonged use of the dishwasher. The construction of the dish rack is somewhat conventional and wires of body 52 are arranged so that they do not-obstruct thefiow of water from the perforations in jet tower 42 to the various surfaces of the dishes supported within the rack. In accordance with the present invention, the rack body 52 has a rear follower means 54 and a front follower aspect of the present invention, is formed integrally in.

. 50 ride within a recess 74 formed in the inner wall of door 16 which recess has a transverse dimension generally.

a of the front follower means 56 plus clearance.

means 56 for reciprocally supporting the dish rack 50" within the washing chamber 10.

Referring specifically to the rear follower means 54,. this follower means includes two support structures on each side of dish rack 50; however, since each of these. support structures are similar, only one will be described in detail and it is appreciated that the description will apply equally to the other support structure. Rear follower means 54 includes a downwardly extending support arm 60 for rotatably receiving a roller assembly 62. The

roller assembly 62 at each side of the dish rack 50 rides.

within a track 64 which, in accordance with an important the bottom wall 12 of washing chamber 10. t In the past,

a dish rack of the general type herein described was supported on a separate track structure secured within the washing chamber '10 which separate structure greatly increased the expense of the dishwasher and posed various problems such as assembly and maintenance. These problems are complete-1y overcome by the present invention which is directed toward the provision of spaced 1 integral tracks 64 in the bottom wall 12 of the washing chamber 10.

Referring now to the front follower means 56, this follower means includes a support structure on each side of the dish rack 50; however, since these structures are similar, only one will be described in detail and it is to be appreciated that this description applies equally to the other support structure on the opposite side of the dish rack 50. The support structure at each side of the dish rack 50 includes a downwardly extending support arm 70 for mounting a roller asembly 72. These roller assemblies at each side of the front portion of dish rack equal to the spacing between the two roller assemblies72 Recess 74 in door 16 has an outwardmost end 76 to limit the outward movement of roller assemblies 72. In like man ner, the inwardrnost end of recess 74 terminates in a cradle-like pocket or prepositioning means for receiving the roller assemblies 72, which pocket will be hereinafter referred to as a cradle. This cradle is spaced from axis x-x of hinge 20 a predetermined distance so that the roller assemblies 72, when received within the cradle 80, are moved along are a having a radius r when the door 16 is pivoted between the horizontal opened posit-ion and the vertical closed position. shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. The inwardmost end of door 16 terminates in a lip 82 which-extends beyond cradle 80 so that the lip covers hinge 20 and its related 1 This pivoted action is best.

structure when the door 16 is pivoted into its opened position as shown in FIGURE 4.

In operation of the movable rack 50, the rack is supported with the roller assemblies 62 of the rear follower means 54 always riding along the track 64 formed integrally with bottom wall 12 and the roller assemblies 72 of the front follower means 56 are always riding within recess 74 of door 16, which recess in effect forms an in-' tegral trackway with respect to the inner surface or wall of the door. the dishwasher A, the dish rack 50 is supported within During the washing and rinsing cycleof the washing chamber 10 with the front roller assemblies rack 50 slightly in the outward direction as is shown in the phantom lines of FIGURE 1. Thereafter, the rack 50 can be easily grasped and .pulled outwardly from the washing chamber 10 a distance determined by the position of end 76 of recess 74. In this position, the

dishes which have been washed can be easily removed from the dish rack and dirty dishes can be placed within the rack. Thereafter, the rack is forced manually into the washing chamber until the front roller assemblies 72 contact the cradles 80. The door is then pivoted upwardly into its closed position and the rack is forced into its final position within the washing chamber. It is appreciated that this structure of the lower movable dish rack 50 not only reduces the cost of manufacturing the lower rack and its support structure, but also, greatly enhances the ease of manipulating the dish rack into and out of the Washing chamber 10.

Referring now to FIGURES 2, 6 and 7, the roller assembly 72 is disclosed in detail. 'It is appreciated that the roller assembly 72 is identical to roller assembly 62 and the description of the roller assembly 72 will apply equally to the description of the other roller assemblies used in supporting the disk rack 50 within the dishwasher A.

The downwardly extending support arm 70 includes a terminal end 90 extending in a generally perpendicular direction from the main body of the support arm 70 and the whole support arm is coated with a plastic material 92 for the reason stated before.

I The roller assembly 72 includes a bushing 100 having a central bore 102 generally matching the outer dimension of terminal end 90 so that the bushing can he slipped over the terminal end. The bushing 100 further includes an outwardly facing generally cylindrical bearing surface 104 terminating in an outwardly facing shoulder 105 at one end and a flange or head 106 at the other end. Adjacent the end with shoulder 105, the bushing is provided with a pair of spaced resilient gripping fingers 108 so contoured to define a gripping aperture 110.

Another component of the roller assembly 72 is a roller 120 having an outer rolling surface 121 for engaging track or recess 74 and an inner bore 122 which is so dimensioned to be rotatably received on bearing surface 104 of bushing 100. The roller also includes a hub 124 to increase the axial length of bore 122 to provide a better bearing surface between the roller and the bushing. At the end of the roller opposite the rolling surface 121 there is provided a shoulder 126 to coact with the lower wall of a counterbore 128 to define the internal bearing surface of bore 122. Counterbore 128 is so dimensioned to receive head 106 of bushing 100. The last component of the roller assembly 72 is a spacer 130 received on reduced cylindrical extension 131 and adapted to ride generally along shoulders 105 and 126 when the roller assembly is mounted onto the support arm 70.

To assemble the roller assembly 72 onto the support arm 70, the roller 120 is first positioned on the bearing surface 104 of bushing 100 and, then, the spacer 130 is forced over the resilient fingers 108 into a position on extension 131 as shown in FIGURE 2. The fingers 108 extend outwardly a certain extent beyond the extension 131 so that the spacer 130 cannot be inadvertently removed from the bushing 100 after it has been assembled. Accordingly, as so far described, the roller assembly 72 is formed into an easily assembled unit which can be handled without the roller 120 being displaced from the bushing 100. After the dish rack 50 has ben produced, the various roller assemblies are forced over the perpendicular terminal end 90 and the resilient fingers 108 grip the support arm 70 with the upwardly extending portion of the support arm extending through aperture 110. By this construction, the elements of the roller assembly may be made out of a plastic material, such as nylon, and there is no need for external nuts or screws which can become corroded during use of the dishwasher.

The present invention has been described in connection with certain structural embodiments; however, it is to be appreciated that various changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the intended spirit and scope of the persent invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus defined my invention, I claim:

1. In a dashwasher including a washing chamber with a vertical wall, an access doorway in said wall, a door pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis adjacent the lowermost portion of said doorway and adapted to selectively close said doorway, and a dish receiving rack supported in said chamber and movable in a plane generally parallel with said axis, the improvement comprising: a generally horizontal first track means in said chamber and extending toward said doorway, a second track means on the inner surface of said door and generally perpendicular to said pivotal axis, said dish rack having a rear follower means and a front follower means, said rack being movable from a first position completely in said chambet to a second position extending partially through said doorway, said rear follower means being movable along said first track means, said front follower means being movable along said second track means, said second track means terminating at the innermost end in a cradle located a predetermined distance from said pivotal axis of the door for receiving said second follower means when said rack is moved to its innermost position with respect to said second track means whereby said dish rack is pulled outwardly from said washing chamber as said door is pivoted toward the opened position and pushed inwardly into said chamber as said door is pivoted toward the closed position, and said first track means being below said dish rack-and formed integrally with said washing chamber.

2. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein said second track means is formed integrally with respect to the inner surface of said door.

3. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein there is included a lip extending inwardly from the inner surface of said door, said lip spaced from said pivotal axis and extending from said inner door surface beyond said axis, whereby said lip moves into said washing chamber when said door is closed and covers said pivotal axis when said door is opened. I

4. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein both of said follower means includes a roller assembly at each side of said dish rack and said first and second track means include tracks for receiving said roller assemblies.

5. The improvement as defined in claim 4 wherein said follower means each include a horizontal support arm terminal end with all of said terminal ends being generally parallel with respect to each other, each of said roller assemblies including a plastic bushing having an inner bore, a radially outward facing bearing surface and a flange, said bore being slidable onto one of said terminal ends with said flange at the outermost end of said terminal end, means for securing said bushing on said terminal end, and a roller rotatably secured onto said bearing surface with said flange preventing removal of said roller from said bearing surface.

6. The improvement as defined in claim 5 wherein said terminal end has agenerally perpendicular support arm portion at the innermost end thereof and secured onto said dish rack and said bushing securing means including resilient fingers on said bushing opposite said flange for resilient gripping said support arm portion.

7. In a dish rack for a domestic dishwasher having a washing chamber comprising an open and unobstructed dish receiving body having a front and rear track follower means adapted to ride along tracks at each side of said dishwasher, and each of said follower means including at least one support arm terminal end having a generally V for securing said bushing on said terminal end comprising a pair of resilient fingers defining an aperture on the end of the bushing opposite said flange for receiving and resiliently gripping said support arm portion, and a roller rotatably secured onto said bearing surface with said flange preventing removal of said roller from said bearing surface.

I bore for locating said spacer on said cylindrical extension,

said resilient fingers on the end of said cylindrical extension-and having a diametrical dimension greater than the diameter of said spacer bore, said fingers being sufficiently resilient to fiex into a diametrical dimension less than the diameter of said spacer bore for allowing place-- ment of said spacer on said cylindrical extension.

9. In a dish rack for'a domestic dishwasher having a washing chamber comprising an open and unobstructed dish receiving body having a front and rear track follower means adapted to ride along tracks at each side of said washing chamber and each of said follower means including at least one support arm and a roller assembly secured to said support arm, the improvement comprising: said support arm having a first portion and a terminal end extending substantially perpendicular to said first portion, a roller assembly including a roller with a central bore, a bearing bushing with a central bore, a flange at one end of said bushing and resilient gripping fingers at the other end of said bushing, said roller being rotatably received on said bushing with said bushing ex- 7 tending through said central bore of said roller and said flange abutting one end of said roller, said bushing being 10. Apparatus of the type described comprising a cabinet defining a chamber having an access opening in one side, a door closable in the opening hinged along .one edge thereof, track means on the inner surface of the door for guiding a member into and out of the chamber along a rectilinear path through said opening, and

prepositioning means on the inner surface of the door adjacent its hinge axis engageable with the member to restrain its movement after partial manual insertion there- 7 of into the chamber and cooperating with the closing or opening movement of the door ,to insert or withdraw the member.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the door is hinged at the bottom and'the track means extend parallel to the side edges of the door.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11 in which the forward end of the member to be moved into and out of the chamber is supported on rollers guided by the track means, said prepositioning means including support means cooperating with a roller to stop the manual insertion of the member at a point where the roller is adjacent to the door hinge and to support the forward end of the member while the door is being closed or opened whereby j port means include an upwardly curved surface which" cooperates with the roller to form a cradle-like support when the door is in the fully closed position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,657,697 11/1953 Walker -Q- 312-411 x, 2,745,707 5/1956 Sebens 312-311 2,924,431 2/1960 Chadbourne.

V FOREIGN PATENTS 1,116,740 2/1956 France.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Examiner.

FRANK DOMOTOR, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,248,158 April 26, 19

Myron E. Ullman, Jr.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered pa ent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

In the grant, line 3, and in the heading to the printed specification, lines 4 and 5, for "a corporation of Ohio", each occurrence, read a corporation of Delaware e Signed and sealed this 21st day of November 1967f (SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer 

10. APPARATUS OF THE TYPE DESCRIBED COMPRISING A CABINET DEFINING A CHAMBER HAVING AN ACCESS OPENING IN ONE SIDE, A DOOR CLOSABLE IN THE OPENING HINGED ALONG ONE EDGE THEREOF, TRACK MEANS ON THE INNER SURFACE OF THE DOOR FOR GUIDING A MEMBER INTO AND OUT OF THE CHAMBER ALONG A RECTILINEAR PATH THROUGH SAID OPENING, AND PREPOSITIONING MEANS ON THE INNER SURFACE OF THE DOOR ADJACENT ITS HINGE AXIS ENGAGEABLE WITH THE MEMBER TO RESTRAIN ITS MOVEMENT AFTER PARTIAL MANUAL INSERTION THEREOF INTO THE CHAMBER AND COOPERATING WITH THE CLOSING OR OPENING MOVEMENT OF THE DOOR TO INSERT OR WITHDRAW THE MEMBER. 